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Thursday, May 12, 2016

Currently- May 2016

BookThe Name Therapist by Duana Taha. Is having an unusual name makes you a more unusual person? What happens when your name just doesn't fit who you are? How does a name becomes a "stripper name? Are Brooklyn names really a thing? Like the author, I've always been deeply interested in names, so this is an especially fun read.

Music
I've always adored this song, but recently got it stuck in my head on repeat. The Blond and I watched the Janis Joplin documentary, Little Girl Blue. It was even more depressing than I expected.

TV
We just binged on the recent season of Grace & Frankie. It was a bit uneven, and I hate that Bud has become such a cliche, but there were still some laugh-out-loud moments as well as good character development. I don't know which character I love most on this show. Martin Sheen has never been better, and that has to say something.

But aren't we here to talk about Game of Thrones? The Husband read the books, I didn't (and have no intention or attention span to do so). It's interesting to see the difference it makes in our viewing experience. I knew absolutely nothing (no pun intended) about the story, the characters, or Westeros when the first season started. To be honest, I had a problem telling many of the characters apart until after the Red Wedding (maybe because it eliminated so many of them). They all had unkempt beards and kind of looked alike to me. Still, from the first few episodes I was absolutely certain that there's a big issue with Jon's parentage that didn't even occur to the book reader who was much more entangled in the history and various plotlines. It just didn't add up, or as Stannis said last season, "that wasn't Ned Stark's way". Thank you, Stannis. At least you were right about one thing.

Perfume
I feel silly every time I want to say "All of them". After all these years and my weight in samples, I'm still deeply in love with perfume. Even though I think the industry is killing itself with the glut of new releases and their prices, I'm curious and excited as I'm adding to my collection, and keep going back to past loves, vintage perfumes, and amazing new launches. So, yes, it's all of them, but currently I'm deeply infatuated with Cadavre Exquis, the Brunno Fazzolari/Antonio Gardoni collaboration.

Makeup
I haven't done anything as extreme as the false lashes from last month, mostly because I do my makeup standing and the sprained foot has made lengthy sessions in front of the mirror extremely undesirable. so it's been all about efficiency lately, gel pencils, big palettes that don't send me looking for a supplemental color in another drawer, and a good powder to tie it all together.

Frequently Worn Item/Outfit
Other than the heating pad for my foot? The weather has been fluctuating intolerably, and we're about to get more of the same. I'm really over the very necessary black, navy and gray cardigans, ao I bought a coral one. Also, I just finished a massive re-org of my closet (I put a glimpse on Instagram), so I'm looking forward to putting my light scarves to some good use.

Food
The husband has been perfecting his tomato-infused buttery pasta sauce. The funny thing is that he'd never eat a fresh tomato and is kind of skeeved by even touching them. Yet he's learned to do wonders and grows a plethora of them every year.

LinkYour media business will not be saved. Media and blogging issues have been on my mind again even before I got that comment on my Artis brush post. Sometimes it feels like blogging (real blogging, not online marketing) is doomed. Then I remembers that my readers are quite amazing.

Bane
My left foot is healing when I let it, so I'm not going to complain too much.

Joy
I already told you about my closets. I did the same with my jewelry storage. It's really the opposite of the Konmari approach. I've arranged the stuff I have beautifully and get to enjoy it, maintain everything nicely, and remember why I picked it in the first place.

Anticipation
A facial, a weekend with my best friend, the Blond's birthday, a staycation. And that bottle of Cadavre Exquis I ordered.

Wishlist
I could use some help with ironing.

Random Thought
Can we please just elect Prince Harry?

How are you? What's on your list of loves and banes? Any wishes and recommendations?Image: Woman in Flowy Skirt by Helen Dryden, circa 1921.

18 comments:

Just to say I was sorry to read that comment implying you are "sponsored" - all loyal readers know that you are most emphatically not!

I haven't commented for a long time, but I never miss reading and enjoying what you have to say and hope you don't let the odd blighter get you down. And I must say how delighted I was about your Ilang Ivohibe post - a little gem that brings sunshine into my life too.

I agree about "Grace and Frankie" being uneven this season, however, when it works, it works magnificently. As a middle aged gay man, it gives me hope that I might not always be single. Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin are working together magnificently. I hope they are good friends when the filming ends for the day. As for "Bud," it's about time, I believe, for him to have a major plotline. I LOVED Estelle Parsons' as "Babe."

Joy and bane: Joy...grateful beyond words that Ted Cruz is out of the Presidential race. Bane...that we still have months before November.

Fragrance surprise: The price of Montale fragrances.

Music: Josh Ritter's "Sermon On The Rocks." Not a bad track on the disk.

Food: Mashed potatoes. I recently came across a quip saying that "Mashed potatoes are the Gentile's chicken soup." I currently take mine with parsley root cooked in or shredded celery root. Surprisingly, I weigh 2 pounds less than I did on the day I graduated from high school.

Estelle Parsons was great. Loved her, teh character, and the poignant storyline. And now I'm craving some good and fluffy mashed potatoes. I love them with wasabi, preferably freshly grated, but I'll take the paste as well any time.

I liked that linked article a lot. And as someone who carefully curates what I read/watch because I don't want to be marketed to, I think that article is in line with the way I feel about real, dedicated bloggers - that people appreciate quality, and eventually the glut will be winnowed down to people who are dedicated to what they're writing about, instead of people in it to make money and sell, sell, sell.

Adele, there was also a similar article on Gawker the other day. While I don't think this new backlash will stop mega celeb paid endorsements on Twitter and Instagram, maybe it will at least bring some much needed honesty to blogging.

Perfume: For some reason, I've worn almost no vintage perfumes at all for the past couple of weeks - *extremely* unusual for me. The only exceptions have been Parure and Chamade - sort of obsessing over those two.

Reading: Have had very little time, so when I have the chance I've been reaching for vintage Vogues and Bazaars (40s through early 60s mostly) and reading the stories and articles in them. Am always impressed with the quality of contributing authors they got, but am also reminded of how glad I am I don't actually live in those times - the reality for women could be tough.

I'm going to have to pick up the book you mentioned as I really am fascinated by naming. In India traditionally names have been chosen by having the first letters/sounds be the ones that are given for the child's moon nakshatra pada. They also now choose names that are in sync w/ the nakshatra pada of the ascendant or the best planet for the child, but it can be tough for people in other countries as some Sanskrit sounds simply don't have a decent equivalent in, for instance, English. And there are some sounds that just aren't conducive to finding English names, like in the nakshatra Jyeshta, one of the padas sound is "yi" - as in "yeast". Seriously, what English name works with that? Also, there is some thought that even if you didn't have a name chosen according to your birth chart (mine certainly was not), your life will tend to resonate with whatever nakshatra matches the sound of the name you actually were given.

Music: I think I'm compensating for the lack of vintage in perfumes w/ my reading and listening choices as I'm o/ding on Julie London and Maxine Sullivan.

Clothes: Is it possible to have too many white shirts? I hope not, because I've found myself purchasing more this spring, despite a closet already jam packed with white shirts. Oh, and great pics of your closet and jewelry. How could seeing all that amazing jewelry do anything other than lift your spirits? I have my jewelry not just in my closet, but also on my desk, even have some absolute favorite necklaces hanging over stacks of books (which sounds odd, but, somehow, it works) - simply love having it visible. Another form of art.

Food: Charred green beans and tomatoes. Have a thing for charred food - or, as DH would more bluntly put it, burnt.

Bane: Finding an alternative litter system for our kids. They've completely refused to adjust to any of the ones we've tried. The worst was the Breeze system as one of the girls ate the string of expletives deleted pellets and got sick on them. Aaargh! Air filters and an amazing new vacuum cleaner have helped our asthmatic boy a lot, so our vet has suggested we go back to the traditional litter and see how it goes. So far, so good...we have all our fingers and paws crossed.

Appreciated reading the link. And then read your post on the Artis brush and that comment. Wondering if they really read that post w/ any care. For regular readers, it's obvious you're not sponsored, but I thought that post in particular seemed *very* balanced. Honestly, I came away from it thinking it was definitely *not* a brush I'd want to buy because of the issues you mentioned with using it. Yes, a lovely brush for some people, but not universally, so, clearly not a post written by someone being sponsored by Artis.Anna

Anna, you're a true gem. There are never enough white shirts of any kind. Or black shoes, or red coats, or... I can keep going. It's kind of funny, the Breeze system works very well for several of our babies. But Bob, Cedric, and Josephine are a bit too big for it so they prefer a large and wide tray (we use a large and shallow Rubbermaid bin, the kind intended for under the bed storage, as well as a couple of Clevercat top entry ones, and a regular covered box for the more coy among them).

Ah, I loved reading this snapshot of your life. I have been reading you for a while, mostly to hear your perfume comments, but I enjoy other posts as well. Like you, my favorite fume is "all of them" and agree there are too many new releases. Keep writing and foot vibes!

I saw that American Experience documentary about Janis Joplin too. So many talented music artists seemed to die too young. They are like shooting stars because they burn bright but are extinguished too fast. My aunt gave me her original vinyl records and I listened to them a lot as a teenager. I always felt like she understood heartbreak and sadness just by listening to her music and I would almost feel like she sympathized with others that felt that way too. After watching the documentary you learn she really did. She sang with enormous energy, emotion, and passion. Any time I felt down as a teenager (which was in the late 80’s to early 90’s) her music would make me feel better, even though her music was a generation or more before me.

Thanks, Adrienne. It was a stupid and typical suburban accident: I was carrying a basket of laundry downstairs, got distracted and missed two stairs. We're nearly at the four week mark now and it's almost healed (finally). But we had to cancel the annual Brimfield trip because there was no way I could do that for 8 hours a day navigating the uneven terrain.

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